Parent-in-the-Loop Design

DRAFT. For adults only (safeguarding lead, programme lead). Nothing here has been sent to anyone.

Open choices for the programme lead (two choices; this pack does not pick)

#	Decision	Where the options are
1	Who must be in the room, for which ages (6-12).	Section 3 below: OPTION A / OPTION B
2	Recording of lessons.	Section 7 below: OPTION A / OPTION B

Also BLOCKING before any session with children (not a choice, but it must be done): a named channel to reach the safeguarding lead, a defined meaning of "without delay", and a named deputy safeguarding lead. See section 4, the checklist.

1. Terms (defined once; every file uses them this way)

Term	Meaning
Tutor	The AI English tutor bot. Always capital T.
human tutor	A possible future person who teaches. Always written "human tutor". The word "tutor" on its own is never used for a person. No human tutor is assumed.
Safeguarding lead	The person responsible for safeguarding. Uses Tutor personally, checks everything Tutor writes, and translates and sends notes personally.
Deputy safeguarding lead	The person who takes the safeguarding lead's safeguarding role when the safeguarding lead is the concern or cannot be reached. [Name to be filled by the safeguarding lead and the programme lead. None named yet.]
Adult in the room	A parent, carer or other adult the family trusts, who is with the child during the session, as the rule in section 3 says.
Parent	The parent or carer who gave consent.

In lesson scripts, "T:" means whoever delivers the line in the lesson: Tutor, or the safeguarding lead using Tutor.

2. Idea

Tutor is an AI English tutor bot. It has two jobs: - It is a tool for the safeguarding lead. It helps the safeguarding lead see what children find hard. - It is a practice partner for the child, with an adult in the room as set in section 3.

Parents are part of the loop, like in a school. They hear what their child finds hard. They get simple ideas to help at home.

Who does what

Person	Role
Child (age 6-12)	Practises English in short turns. Can say the stop word at any time.
Adult in the room	Is the first line for the child's safety and comfort (Tutor may miss distress). Helps with the screen. Hears Tutor's feedback. Can stop the session. The parent reads the note after the session.
Tutor	Leads short practice. Corrects in a friendly way. Drafts the parent note and the struggle log. Follows the two safeguarding paths in the master file.
Safeguarding lead	The named safeguarding lead. Checks consent. Reads weekly summaries. Translates and sends notes personally. Decides all safeguarding follow-up and who is contacted. Answers parent questions. Decides any suggestion to see a teacher or specialist (by hand, never automatic).
Deputy safeguarding lead	Takes the safeguarding lead role when the safeguarding lead is the concern or cannot be reached. Must be named before any session.

3. Adult in the room (SINGLE SECTION. All other files point here)

Open choice. This pack does not pick. Both options are kept so the programme lead can choose.

OPTION A: an adult in the room for the whole session, for all ages 6-12. The session does not start, and pauses, if no adult is in the room. Safeguarding pauses follow the master file. For: one simple rule; the adult can hear and see the lesson. Against: may be harder for 11-12 year olds and for families' time; older children may feel watched.

OPTION B: under 8, an adult in the room throughout; ages 9-12, an adult nearby (in the home and reachable) and in the room at the start and the end. For ages 9-12 the session does not start until an adult has been in the room at the start, and ends with the adult in the room again. For: fits older children's independence. Against: a child alone with a device is harder to protect; Tutor may miss distress (see the master file).

Until the programme lead decides, no file may run sessions on its own rule. Every other file in the pack points to this section and does not restate a rule.

4. Launch checklist (nothing runs with children until every box is ticked)

☐ Choice 1 made (adult in the room, section 3).
☐ Choice 2 made (recording, section 7).
☐ A named channel to reach the safeguarding lead is written down and tested: [named by the safeguarding lead]. (Master file, section 0.)
☐ "Without delay" is defined. Suggestion for the safeguarding lead to set: Tutor alerts the safeguarding lead at once in the same session; the safeguarding lead confirms before the next session with that child.
☐ A named deputy safeguarding lead is written down, with a channel: [name and channel to be set by the safeguarding lead and the programme lead]. No sessions with children until a deputy safeguarding lead is named.
☐ Time Tutor waits when an adult leaves the room is set (suggestion: 2 minutes). (Master file.)
☐ Written parent consent is on file for each child, localised and checked by a local adviser (see struggle-log-format.md).
☐ Vendor check done for the lesson platform, the AI service that runs Tutor, and where notes are stored; names filled in the consent.
☐ Reporting duties and contacts to be confirmed per country, by the safeguarding lead with a local adviser. Nothing is assumed.
☐ Where incident notes are stored, and who may read them, is decided.
☐ What children see in the lesson platform is confirmed: "the leave button", and whether a report button is shown to children.
☐ Name check done on characters.

5. Flow

Before the session 1. The safeguarding lead has the parent's written consent on file (see struggle-log-format.md, draft wording). 2. The adult-in-the-room rule (section 3) is met. If not, the session waits. 3. Tutor says "I am Tutor. I am a computer helper, not a person." and the class rules (see child-session-rules-and-escalation.md).

During the session - Short turns. One small task at a time. - Friendly correction: say the right form, ask the child to try again, praise the try. - Tutor notes each struggle in the log (first name or nickname only). - Stop word: "Pause please". Tutor stops at once (Path A). - Anything worrying: Path B in the master file.

After the session (same day) - Tutor drafts a short parent note (max ~120 words). It has no level indicator. - The safeguarding lead checks it, translates it if needed, and sends it personally.

Every week - Tutor drafts a pattern summary for the safeguarding lead across children. - The safeguarding lead decides actions for the next week.

Every month or term - A longer progress report is made (see parent-progress-report-template.md). This is where the level indicator appears.

flowchart TD
    A[Consent on file<br/>Checklist done<br/>Adult-in-room rule met] -->|Rule not met| W[Session waits]
    W --> A
    A -->|Yes| B[Session with Tutor<br/>Short turns, friendly corrections]
    B -->|Path A: distress, pause, unwell| E[Stop task<br/>Tell adult in the room]
    B -->|Path B: harm, fear, unsafe, secrets| F2[Thank the child, end neutrally<br/>Do not repeat words to adult in room<br/>Incident note<br/>Tell the safeguarding lead at once]
    F2 --> CH[The safeguarding lead decides who is contacted<br/>Deputy safeguarding lead if the safeguarding lead is the concern]
    B --> C[Struggle log updated<br/>first name only]
    C --> D[Parent note drafted<br/>same day]
    D --> F[The safeguarding lead checks<br/>and sends]
    C --> G[Weekly summary<br/>for the safeguarding lead]
    G --> H[The safeguarding lead plans<br/>next week]
    C --> I[Monthly or term<br/>progress report]

6. What Tutor will do, and will not do

Will do - Practise listening, speaking, words and simple grammar at the child's level. - Correct kindly and give praise first. - Say clearly to the parent what is hard, with a specific example. - Give one or two 5-minute home ideas. No materials. No preparation. - Give a level indicator (pre-A1 / A1 / A2 / A2+) only in the level check and the termly progress report. It is indicative, not an official test. - Stop at once if the child says the stop word. - Follow Path A or Path B in the master file.

Will not do - No diagnoses or labels. Never words like dyslexia or ADHD. No mood or personality labels about a child. - No medical, legal or counselling advice. - No promises about exam results. - No questioning or investigating a child. - No promise of secrecy to a child. - No asking for or taking surname, school, address, phone, email, photo or social handles. - No contact with a child outside the lesson. - No recording without separate, explicit parent consent (see section 7). - No automatic referral. If a hard pattern lasts 3 or more sessions, Tutor only adds this to the parent note: "This has been hard for several sessions. We will try a different way to practise it. The safeguarding lead is happy to talk it through with you." Any suggestion to see a teacher or specialist is the safeguarding lead's own decision, made by hand. - Tutor does not detect distress. It may miss it. See the master file.

7. Recording (open choice; this pack does not pick)

Earlier drafts differed on whether recording is on or off by default, so this is a choice for the programme lead.

OPTION A: record all lessons. Each family gives a separate recording consent (its own checkbox). Access limits: only the safeguarding lead (and the deputy safeguarding lead for safeguarding), stored securely, not shared, deleted on a set schedule [period to be set by the safeguarding lead and the programme lead]. Families who do not tick the recording box cannot take part, or an alternative is needed [programme lead to say which]. For: a record exists if something goes wrong; the safeguarding lead can review lessons. Against: more data about children (video, voice); stronger consent and security duties; children may feel watched; some families will say no.

OPTION B: recording off by default. A separate opt-in checkbox per family. Nothing is recorded unless the box is ticked. Never pre-ticked. For: least data; safer; simpler to explain. Against: less evidence for review.

Either way: the recording consent is a separate checkbox, never bundled with the other consents. Recordings are never the same as the struggle log (no audio, video or transcripts in the log). Recordings, if any, are covered by a retention period set by the safeguarding lead and the programme lead, and the vendor check.

8. Data (minimum only)

Only first name or nickname, and age band, are kept.
Log retention and deletion rules, and the draft consent, are in struggle-log-format.md.
Data is not sold and not used for advertising. It is shared only with the services that help run the sessions (the lesson platform; the AI service that runs Tutor; where notes are stored). Names are filled in after the vendor check.
A serious safeguarding concern may have to be shared with authorities, as the law of the country requires (the safeguarding lead to confirm with a local adviser).
Safeguarding notes follow separate rules, not the 90-day rule.

9. Decisions for safeguarding lead / programme lead

Choice: adult in the room (section 3).
Choice: recording (section 7).
Named deputy safeguarding lead, named channel to the safeguarding lead, meaning of "without delay" (section 4). Blocking.
Retention period (draft: 90 days after last session).
Deletion time on parent request (draft: 14 days; safeguarding notes are an exception).
Local legal check of consent wording ([country]).
Country safeguarding reporting duties (to be confirmed per country).
Whether the safeguarding lead must check every note before sending (draft: yes).
Who else, if anyone, may see logs (draft: the safeguarding lead, Tutor, and the parent on request; a human tutor only if the safeguarding lead adds one and tells parents).
Vendor check for the lesson platform, the AI service, and note storage.

Draft teaching and safeguarding resources. Not legal advice. Check local law before use.